Workflows describe step-by-step procedures, e.g., how an employee may accomplish an assigned work task from start to finish. Employees in a company may be required to perform any number of different workflow processes. A workflow might relate to intake of necessary information for personnel matters, such as hiring, medical leave requests, and the like.
An example workflow might be a process that is routed through an employer call center where call center employees collect the initial intake information from a caller. To guide the call center employee, an employer might require a workflow process that includes the steps of asking the caller a series of scripted questions. There may be some initial questions required to assist the call center employee in determining what workflow should be followed.
After determining the necessary workflow, a call center worker might then follow a step-by-step scripted series of questions and comments guiding the worker to collect the necessary information to complete the intake of information that is the subject of the workflow process. Answers to questions might be typed into a computer spreadsheet or database. Conventionally, call center employees following such a workflow are not automatically prompted to ask the next question and may be required to enter duplicate information in multiple locations. The call center employee might then be required to enter the collected information into a separate paper form, computer spreadsheet or database not compatibly formatted with the original collection form.
Consequently, the current process of intake of information following a given workflow may lead to call center employee errors such as failing to remember to ask relevant and necessary questions or miscopying already correct information into a different location. The workflow is not automatically responsive to information received. Changing the workflow steps may require additional revisions and supplementing that may further complicate the call center employee's task. Also, the workflow for intake of information is very inefficient and not user friendly for an employee attempting to follow the workflow.